This 130-Year-Old German Bakery Is New Orleans' Go-To Source For This Po'boy Ingredient

As popular as po'boy sandwiches are in New Orleans, authentic po'boy bread is elusive. But thanks to one institution, restaurants there have it covered. Since 1896, Leidenheimer Baking Company has been baking the perfect bread for everything from shrimp po'boy sandwiches to oyster po'boys and roast beef po'boys. The family-run business can be traced back to George Leidenheimer, a German who started the bakery after immigrating to New Orleans. Though Leidenheimer started making denser brown bread recipes similar to what he was used to at home, he began to bake lighter French-style bread for his customers. The decision helped the bakery become the best-known maker of po'boy bread — and for many cooks, it is a non-negotiable ingredient. 

While French baguette recipes are tapered on each end, Leidenheimer's loaves are made to be uniform on both sides, ensuring that every inch of the bread is usable and sandwiches can be evenly cut. The crust is thick and crackly, and the inside of each piece is light and airy. This foundation is ideal to hold the sandwich ingredients without them turning into a soggy mess, and the reliable consistency of Leidenheimer's has become well known.

The Leidenheimer descendants still run the bakery, and the bread recipe has remained largely unchanged since its origins. Recipes call for sugar, dry granulated yeast, vegetable shortening, bread flour, and salt, and home bakers have tried their best to replicate the result. "I finally cracked the code on real New Orleans French bread. Use a high gluten flour (even more than bread flour) and vital wheat gluten," wrote one such home baker on Reddit. But Leidenheimer-quality French bread is about more than just the ingredients — you're going to have to nail the technique to achieve anything similar to that famous crispy and crackly crust. 

At Leidenheimer's, dough is left to naturally ferment, and loaves are stretched by hand to a sliceable 32 inches. Bake times are adjusted daily according to the weather. "We have to put a considerably harder bake on our products during the hotter months because the New Orleans humidity will soften the bread's signature crust," fifth-generation owner and director of operations, William Whann, explained in an interview with The Camellia Bean Blog. Leidenheimer's recipe is admittedly a difficult one to replicate, largely due to its texture, and anyone who has bitten into one of these sandwiches understands why the bakery has lasted for over a century.